Route profile
DEN→PDX
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Denver to Portland, 991 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 52% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 13,791 flights. How this is calculated
DEN → PDX arrives on time 75.6% of the time; the return trip, PDX → DEN, arrives on time 82.6% of the time, a 7.0-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DEN → PDX spends 22.5 minutes on the ground on a 991-mile trip: 17.9 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DEN and 4.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at PDX.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route has stayed remarkably steady year over year, a smaller swing than 93% of 5,368 comparable routes.
74.9% on time over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), against 75.3% in the 12 months before (2024-08 to 2025-07), virtually unchanged.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 5,368 in the comparison.
Why DEN → PDX flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DEN → PDX cancelled 98 of 13,791 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 141. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 44.9% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 313 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 98 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
44 cancellations, 44.9% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
42 cancellations, 42.9% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
12 cancellations, 12.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
98 coded cancellations were recorded on DEN → PDX; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
45 min late
against a median of 2 min early
Percentiles over 13,791 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at PDX after arriving from DEN.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 44% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 24% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.7% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.7% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 0.71% of the time and diverts 0.06% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 13,685 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 45 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 13,791 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DEN → PDX flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 88.5% of the time, against 65.3% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 23.2 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (DEN).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 9.6 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 1.7 points.
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 50–59
- 60–69
- 70–79
- 80–89
- 90–99
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures before 6 AM and after 11 PM (89 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | 94.7% on time133 flights | 70 flights, too few to score | 74 flights, too few to score | 95.1% on time124 flights | 90.8% on time130 flights | 76 flights, too few to score | 74 flights, too few to score |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 88.3% on time145 flights | 87.4% on time127 flights | 91.0% on time123 flights | 89.7% on time146 flights | 85.1% on time149 flights | 85.5% on time160 flights | 89.8% on time186 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 87.0% on time170 flights | 91.1% on time169 flights | 85.0% on time174 flights | 81.7% on time164 flights | 81.4% on time161 flights | 89.8% on time137 flights | 89.8% on time137 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 67 flights, too few to score | 47 flights, too few to score | 44 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 74 flights, too few to score | 55 flights, too few to score | 47 flights, too few to score |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 8 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 21 flights, too few to score | 8 flights, too few to score | 8 flights, too few to score | 22 flights, too few to score | 13 flights, too few to score |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 82.7% on time279 flights | 84.7% on time249 flights | 78.6% on time243 flights | 80.7% on time282 flights | 81.5% on time278 flights | 82.5% on time230 flights | 83.4% on time279 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 90 flights, too few to score | 82 flights, too few to score | 84 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 85 flights, too few to score | 46 flights, too few to score | 68 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 46 flights, too few to score | 89 flights, too few to score | 80 flights, too few to score | 46 flights, too few to score | 53 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score | 57 flights, too few to score |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 73 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 66 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 40 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 109 flights, too few to score | 90 flights, too few to score | 91 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score | 114 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 113 flights, too few to score |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 75.2% on time130 flights | 75.8% on time168 flights | 70.7% on time166 flights | 78.3% on time129 flights | 72.4% on time127 flights | 77.6% on time125 flights | 81.7% on time122 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 40 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score | 44 flights, too few to score | 36 flights, too few to score | 37 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 78 flights, too few to score | 54 flights, too few to score | 53 flights, too few to score | 76 flights, too few to score | 82 flights, too few to score | 92 flights, too few to score | 106 flights, too few to score |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 62.9% on time270 flights | 72.0% on time237 flights | 64.9% on time231 flights | 59.3% on time263 flights | 64.6% on time272 flights | 70.3% on time220 flights | 66.4% on time235 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 66.7% on time140 flights | 69.5% on time131 flights | 68.5% on time162 flights | 61.5% on time136 flights | 69.4% on time135 flights | 116 flights, too few to score | 68.6% on time121 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 64.4% on time136 flights | 106 flights, too few to score | 67.1% on time146 flights | 55.0% on time151 flights | 60.8% on time143 flights | 92 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 71.6% on time164 flights | 97 flights, too few to score | 105 flights, too few to score | 58.8% on time158 flights | 67.9% on time173 flights | 99 flights, too few to score | 67.1% on time211 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 92.6% on time from 681 flights
- 7 AM: 88.1% on time from 1,036 flights
- 8 AM: 86.4% on time from 1,112 flights
- 9 AM: 82.9% on time from 403 flights
- 10 AM: too few flights to score
- 11 AM: 82.0% on time from 1,840 flights
- 12 PM: 83.8% on time from 551 flights
- 1 PM: 81.7% on time from 430 flights
- 2 PM: 70.8% on time from 416 flights
- 3 PM: 70.4% on time from 743 flights
- 4 PM: 75.7% on time from 967 flights
- 5 PM: 64.7% on time from 310 flights
- 6 PM: 64.0% on time from 541 flights
- 7 PM: 65.5% on time from 1,728 flights
- 8 PM: 67.2% on time from 941 flights
- 9 PM: 62.0% on time from 890 flights
- 10 PM: 68.0% on time from 1,007 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DEN → PDX runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DEN → PDX. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DEN → PDX, at 51.4%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 88.5% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 65.3%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is the one the flight leaves from, where a cancellation keeps it from departing at all. Bad weather cancels 4.0 times the normal rate at DEN against 2.2 times at PDX. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: DEN 2.8% against 0.7%, PDX 1.7% against 0.8%. Flights that did leave DEN in bad weather arrived on time 51.5% of the time, against 78.8% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | DEN | PDX |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 2.8% | 1.7% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 51.5% | 84.6% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 78.8% | 83.0% |
| Departures in bad weather | 92,610 | 11,286 |
United Airlines (1.5% cancelled against 3.5% for the other carriers at DEN), Alaska Airlines (1.4% cancelled against 2.7% for the other carriers at DEN) and Southwest Airlines (2.4% cancelled against 3.1% for the other carriers at DEN) cancelled fewer departures from DEN in bad weather than the other carriers there did in the same months. None of the route’s other carriers was clearly worse.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at DEN
All departures from DEN| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 30,853 | 1.5%below the others | 3.5% |
| Alaska Airlines | 641 | 1.4%below the others | 2.7% |
| Southwest Airlines | 28,467 | 2.4%below the others | 3.1% |
| Frontier Airlines | 6,740 | 3.1%about level | 2.8% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from DEN and PDX, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from DEN on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: DEN (airlines), PDX, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 5,721 | 81.2% | 0.63% | -7 min | 6.5% |
| Southwest Airlines | 5,167 | 67.1% | 0.60% | 4 min | 7.8% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1,541 | 80.9% | 1.23% | -5 min | 5.5% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,343 | 78.9% | 0.89% | -5 min | 5.9% |
United Airlines flew 41.5% of the 13,772 flights listed.
United Airlines arrived on time 14.1 percentage points more often than Southwest Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
UA1247 (7:45 AM) arrived on time 89.6% of the time, 15.5 points more often than UA498 (7:20 PM) at 74.1%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Thursday the least, a gap of 5.5 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 76.0%
- Feb: 75.2%
- Mar: 77.4%
- Apr: 79.0%
- May: 73.3%
- Jun: 64.4%
- Jul: 67.6%
- Aug: 74.9%
- Sep: 83.3%
- Oct: 82.3%
- Nov: 83.6%
- Dec: 76.7%
June is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 19.2 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 60.0% from 408 flights
- August 2023: 76.8% from 438 flights
- September 2023: 83.4% from 417 flights
- October 2023: 83.7% from 436 flights
- November 2023: 86.9% from 383 flights
- December 2023: 81.5% from 358 flights
- January 2024: 70.7% from 311 flights
- February 2024: 78.2% from 290 flights
- March 2024: 79.6% from 342 flights
- April 2024: 80.4% from 348 flights
- May 2024: 73.0% from 378 flights
- June 2024: 68.1% from 432 flights
- July 2024: 72.5% from 464 flights
- August 2024: 76.4% from 436 flights
- September 2024: 84.5% from 413 flights
- October 2024: 86.3% from 373 flights
- November 2024: 83.7% from 364 flights
- December 2024: 82.2% from 350 flights
- January 2025: 74.8% from 311 flights
- February 2025: 69.0% from 278 flights
- March 2025: 81.9% from 327 flights
- April 2025: 71.6% from 343 flights
- May 2025: 68.4% from 402 flights
- June 2025: 64.9% from 443 flights
- July 2025: 63.8% from 461 flights
- August 2025: 71.6% from 437 flights
- September 2025: 82.0% from 395 flights
- October 2025: 76.8% from 393 flights
- November 2025: 79.9% from 345 flights
- December 2025: 66.0% from 346 flights
- January 2026: 83.2% from 269 flights
- February 2026: 78.8% from 245 flights
- March 2026: 69.7% from 294 flights
- April 2026: 85.8% from 303 flights
- May 2026: 79.0% from 366 flights
- June 2026: 60.4% from 435 flights
- July 2026: 73.0% from 457 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 74.9% against 75.3% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 13,791 DEN → PDX flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed